2 nephews of a Trimbakeshwar temple trustee arrested in illegal darshan racket case

Nashik: The Nashik rural police arrested two nephews of a trustee of the Trimbakeshwar temple trust on Tuesday night, a day after arresting the trustee, in a cheating case linked to alleged paid quick darshan arrangements at the temple.The accused have been identified as Abhishek Kadlag and his brother, Om Kadlag. Inspector Mahesh Kulkarni, of the Trimbakeshwar police station, said that the two brothers were arrested on Tuesday.They were produced in the court, which remanded them in police custody till April 18.The Trimbakeshwar police arrested Purushottam Kadlag early on Tuesday in connection with a cheating case registered against four people, including Purushottam, his two nephews Abhishek Kadlag and Om Kadlag, and one more man identified as Gotiram Pehre.The police said that certain agents used to contact devotees waiting in the queue, and fixed a rate with them for quick darshan. These agents then contacted Abhishek and Om Kadlag, after which the darshan was facilitated through Purushottam Kadlag for any amount ranging from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 and even more.The police suspect that this activity was carried out on a large scale, and the accused have earned massive amounts of money through the same. The police added that the act was leading to injustice to those devotees who have to stand in queues for long hours for darshan.Trimbakeshwar temple is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas in the country and sees a continuous flow of devotees around the year.Devotees coming from far-flung places have to stand in queues for two to three hours or even more for the darshan, despite taking the Rs 200 donation passes, which are legally offered by the temple trust. Those who do not take the passes have to stand in queues for ever longer hours, said the police.